


Opening Eyes

by pootje



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Fluff, M/M, literally just fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:40:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28271784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pootje/pseuds/pootje
Summary: Mako had closed himself to love deliberately, but he finds himself rediscovering it in the one place he never expected to
Relationships: Mako/Prince Wu (Avatar)
Kudos: 22





	Opening Eyes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [previouslyonavatar](https://archiveofourown.org/users/previouslyonavatar/gifts).



> this is a bday gift for daph cause she was talkin bout how there isnt enough wuko out there
> 
> it will be chaptered cause im a master of timing and didnt finish it before her bday

Mako knew he had signed up for some boring jobs when he signed on to the police force, of course. It couldn’t all be busting gangs and chases through the streets of Republic City, but he hadn’t signed on for… _this_. Drudgery was one thing. Babysitting a man who had to be the world’s least regal prince was another all together. Prince Wu had grown more tolerable over time, sure, but Mako hadn’t become a cop for this.  
“Oh, but the brown is nice too! Which colour do you like best, Mako?” Wu asked, holding up two identical coats in very slightly different shades of reddy-brown. Mako had to suppress the urge to roll his eyes, wondering how many days of his salary that coat was worth.  
“They both look nice.” He said, failing to suppress the tension in his voice. Prince Wu had returned to Republic City for democracy development talks, and Mako had actually been pretty relieved to see him taking something seriously for once. The shopping trips punctuating those talks, however, were starting to grate.  
“Ooooh the red one has a little pattern on the buttons! Wonderful!” As ever Wu seemed deliberately oblivious to his mood, and Mako settled for silently following Wu to the dressing room, mentally preparing for the inevitable questions about his opinion.  
He was shocked when instead the prince turned to him, holding the coat out with a smile. “Well, there you are, try it on!” Wu insisted with a bright smile, and Mako could feel himself gawking at the prince.  
“I-what?” He hadn’t been paying much attention to what Wu said when they walked in here, granted, but Mako definitely hadn’t expected the purpose of the trip to be a gift for him, certainly not such an expensive one. “Me?”  
The sincerity of Wu’s grin gave Mako hope that he hadn’t missed some important part of the conversation after all, backed up when the prince spoke. “Surprise! I wanted to get you a gift, to thank you for following me all around the city like this. Do you like it?”  
It was a relief to Mako to have procedure to fall back on, but the words still felt callous as he said them. “I can’t accept high value gifts, it’s banned under bribery regulations.” He said stiffly, heart crumpling slightly as Wu’s face did.  
“Oh.” The prince said, looking down at the coat in his now slightly sagging arms as though Mako’s words had somehow killed it, and he couldn’t help carrying on.  
“You…. don’t have to buy me anything, I’m just doing my job, but if you wanted to, you could… buy me lunch or something?”  
“Lunch!” The suggestion had barely left Mako’s mouth when Wu perked up again at once, throwing the coat haphazardly onto a nearby shelf as though it were the world’s most expensive rags. “That’s a fantastic idea! Where shall we go, then? I want to try the food the real locals eat, where do you like to eat in the city?” He asked, already clearly focused on this next goal. Mako took a moment to consider his answer, shifting uncomfortably on the spot.  
“Uh, well, there’s a place I go sometimes, but it’s Fire Nation cuisine, it might be hotter than you’re-” He was cut off by Wu gripping his wrist, cheerfully pulling him towards the door.  
“Let’s go, then!” And they were away, out into the crowded streets of the shopping district. Mako started leading the way to the restaurant, staying focused on the crowds around them, keeping an eye out for danger. He was so focused on his job it didn’t even strike him as strange for far too long that Wu hadn’t let go of his wrist. Indeed, he didn’t even notice until he felt fingers sliding down closer to his hand. Mako froze in the middle of a busy crowd of people, glancing down at Wu in disbelief.  
Having clearly thought he was getting away with something sneaky, Wu cowered under Mako’s stern gaze. “Sorry!” He said quickly. “I didn’t want to get separated in the crowd!”  
As soon as he heard the explanation, Mako was embarrassed at how obvious it was. “Oh… right. That’s… that’s not a bad idea, actually.” he said slowly, and relaxed his palm slightly to allow Wu’s hand to slide into his own. Mako’s stomach jolted slightly as he remembered the last hand he had held, the absolute disasters that had been his recent relationships. After ending things with Korra for good, he had sworn off dating entirely, at least for a while. A resolution Mako was fairly sure was for the best. But it had been a while since he had been anywhere near anyone else, and though this was an entirely practical arrangement, it felt… nice. Walking hand in hand with someone.  
Mako almost missed the closeness when they reached the restaurant and Wu moved away to request a table, scanning the room for threats automatically while Wu pulled out the royalty card to get them a private table. It was strange, being somewhere so familiar in an official capacity, having staff he was on a first-name basis with treat him like a revered guest. Mako went along with it all though, and found himself seated across a surprisingly cosy table in a private dining room with Prince Wu, who was perusing the menu with fascinated interest.


End file.
